Digital Phantom Frontier

by DarkFoxKit

Takuya Kanbara was just a normal 12 year old Japanese boy, when he suddenly got a call to the Digital World. There, he meets new friends who were also called to the Digital World. They meet with some Digimon who are willing to guide them. But these Digimon seem to be hiding something from them.

22. Chapter 22: A Whirlpool of a Battle

DarkFoxKit: Hello everyone, we got a new chapter for you.

ZAFT: And it's the second one of the new year! We hope you will enjoy this one, because soon, things change from Frontier canon even more! X3

DarkFoxKit: The Digimon are going to have a harder time going forward, let's see if they'll be able to come out of this alright.

ZAFT: And onto the chapter! X3

---

Chapter 22: A Whirlpool of a Battle

"Hey, Patamon?" Takuya called out.

"Biyomon!" Zoe called. "Where are you?"

"Where are you, Labramon?" Koji shouted out.

There had been no sign of their Digimon friends since the battle with Ranamon ended, and it worried the kids greatly.

"Kokuwamon? You'd better not have gotten wet again!" JP called out.

"Lopmon? Where are you?" Tommy called for Lopmon.

"Where could they be?" Zoe frowned worriedly. "You don't think they got caught up in Ranamon's water attacks, do you?"

"I don't think so, they were farther away from the fight then we were," Koji replied.

"How far did they chase the Toucanmon?" Tommy questioned. "Do you think… if they had to fight, they would be able to win without us?"

"Let's not even consider that possibility." Takuya grimaced. "I'd hate to think about that. I mean, sure, they are stronger than they look, but… against certain Digimon…" The way he trailed off indicated he didn't like the possibility in his mind.

"Hey!" JP suddenly called out. "I see them!"

That quickly got everyone's attention.

"Where?" Takuya asked as he and the others ran over to JP.

JP pointed ahead. The group saw Patamon, Biyomon, and Kokuwamon first, since they were flying. Not too far behind them were Labramon and Lopmon.

"Hey, there you guys are," Patamon said.

"Looks like you were able to survive Ranamon," Biyomon noted.

"Yeah, but barely." Zoe admitted. "I was able to hold my own against her, but she then got her hands on her Beast Spirit."

JP snickered. "As terrifying as it was, she didn't have control over it, so that sent her spiraling away from us when she tried to attack us."

"But where were you guys? We've been looking for you," Koji asked.

"Sorry, we were trying to find the Toucanmon," Labramon apologized.

"They threw some sand at us, making it hard for us to see, and covered Labramon's nose," Lopmon stated. "We ended up losing track of them and tried to look for them, but they're annoyingly good at hiding."

"When we realized we couldn't find them, we figured we should get back to you guys before you worry about us too much," Kokuwamon finished.

Koji sighed. "As annoying as it is that we can't find the Toucanmon, at least you guys are safe, and that's what counts."

"Those dumb birds can't get too far though." Takuya pointed out. "We're still on an island after all."

"Then we should continue looking for them," JP suggested. "Without our D-Tectors, we won't be able to save the Digital World from Cherubimon."

"Are any of you hurt from that battle with Ranamon?" Patamon asked. "You said she got her Beast Spirit, right? Even with her lack of control, she still could've hurt you guys."

"We're fine," Tommy promised. "She ended up twirling away into the horizon before she could do any real damage to us."

"You guys got lucky." Kokuwamon remarked. "But I wouldn't count on getting lucky like that again down the road."

Takuya snickered. "Ranamon resembled a top the way she spun off into the distance."

"But she sure was an ugly giant squad face," JP shivered.

"Well, she's gone for now, let's try to find the Toucanmon before they can get far," Biyomon suggested.

So the group began looking around for the Toucanmon. JP was bending down enough for a small crab to pinch his behind. JP screamed in pain and yelled to get the crab off. Kokuwamon used a small jolt of electricity on the crab to fry it, forcing it to let go of JP's behind.

"Guess we're having some crab meat for dinner later," Kokuwamon noted.

JP grumbled, rubbing his behind. "Thanks, Kokuwamon. I really don't like things attacking from behind like that."

"Hey, it's a crab, don't get all crabby about it." Takuya joked with a grin.

"I'm both proud and disappointed at you for that pun," Patamon said. "I'm not even sure how that's possible."

Takuya blushed sheepishly. "Ehehe… I couldn't resist…"

"Enough of the hot puns, fire boy." Koji retorted with a smug grin, making Takuya grumble under his breath,

"Guys, we need to focus on the Toucanmon, not stupid puns." Biyomon said, getting the group back on track.

Zoe opened up a barrel to see if the Toucanmon were hiding in there, but she only saw clear water in the barrel. Probably meant to serve to guests or to be made into other types of drinks later. She saw her reflection with how clear and clean the water was, she couldn't help but admire her reflection a little bit. Biyomon hopped and landed on the edge of the barrel, using her talons to keep herself from falling. She looked down into the water herself, looking at her own reflection.

I never really looked at my reflection since we woke up in this world. It's kind of strange to see this pink bird staring back at me instead of my usual face. Biyomon thought to herself.

"You look really pretty, Biyomon," Zoe complimented, catching Biyomon off guard.

"You… you really think so?" Biyomon asked, blushing a little.

"Yep!" Zoe grinned. "The pink and blue really go well together on you! No need to be so embarrassed about it!"

"I… I… Thanks…" Biyomon blushed a bit more.

---

Meanwhile, BlackGatomon was walking up a hill. She wasn't worried about Ranamon accidentally leaving her behind, she knew she'd be back before long. It was nice to get away from the hideout after all. However, her ears picked up what sounded like voices.

"How could we make such a mistake?"

"Us? How could she turn into that? … Our sweet little Ranamon…"

"Sweet, cute little Ranamon…"

"Yeah… We nab those D-Tectors, and how do we get paid back? Hugs? Kisses? Invites to slumber parties? No! She pays us back by turning into that hideous thing!"

BlackGatomon could hear the Toucanmon sighing in disappointment. Sounds like Ranamon's Beast Spirit disgusted them quite a bit. This really isn't that much better than high school, where you're judged on how good you look.

BlackGatomon weighed her options, if she should get involved or not with the Toucanmon.

"Then what should we do with these?" One of the Toucanmon asked as he looked at the D-Tectors.

"Let 'em rot. Even if Ranamon would give us a date for them, who'd want to date that?" The more angry Toucanmon grumbled.

"She's probably out there laughing at all of us…"

"I hate these things!" The Toucanmon shouted as they all tossed the D-Tectors toward the ocean.

"I hate Ranamon!"

"And I hate everything!"

BlackGatomon's eyes went wide, none of the Toucanmon was trying to retrieve the D-Tector for some reason. Seeing this, BlackGatomon had to act fast, so she jumped out of her hiding spot and lashed out her tail to grab the 4 D-Tectors before they could be lost forever.

The four D-Tectors were caught in her tail, thankfully. BlackGatomon sighed in relief; she had managed to catch the D-Tectors just in time. Wow… that was close… This wasn't supposed to happen…

"What the!?"

"Who are you?"

"And what are you doing?"

BlackGatomon looked at the Toucanmon before she dropped the D-Tectors back onto the ground. "I'm BlackGatomon. I was sent here by Ranamon to keep an eye on things. And I see you bumbling birdbrains about to make the biggest mistake of your life."

The Toucanmon did freeze at BlackGatomon's words.

"Why would that ugly witch care about what we were doing?" One of the Toucanmon grumbled. "We supported her, and how did she repay us? By turning into that ugly squid!"

"Yeah! That was her fault, not our's!"

"What should we even do about that?"

"We're no longer a part of her fan club!"

BlackGatomon looked at the 4 Toucanmon for a moment, before speaking softly. "So you only cared about Ranamon because she looked pretty, and nothing else, huh? I guess you really aren't her fans after all."

BlackGatomon experienced this herself firsthand, the moment she lost her wealth, she was immediately turned on by her so-called friends, and demonted as 'loser'. While it may not be that bad with Ranamon, seeing how these Toucanmon were reacting to her Beast form, something Ranamon couldn't really control the looks of, brought back some bad memories.

"You're a part of her fan club too, aren't you? Isn't that the only reason why you're out here?" The more aggressive Toucanmon asked. "If you'd seen how horrible she looked, you'd agree with us."

"I have seen how she looked," BlackGatomon stated. "But so what? She's still Ranamon, the very same one you guys were singing about how ravishing she was not that long ago."

The Toucanmon glared at BlackGatomon. "You're not a true fan then!" The first Toucanmon exclaimed. "If you were, you'd be agreeing with us on how ugly she looked!"

"I'm not a true fan? I thought you guys quit being her fans the moment she looked ugly," BlackGatomon pointed out. "At least I'm still loyal." Well, not really, but you don't need to know that.

BlackGatomon then pointed at the D-Tectors. "And if I reported that you guys had these children's D-Tectors, but threw them out at sea, Ranamon will be coming for your tailfeathers. She might even use that beast form you all hate so much just to torment you more."

The Toucanmon all squawked in horror.

"No!"

"Anything but that!"

"No way!"

"It's too ugly!"

It was clear the Toucanmon didn't want to see Ranamon's Beast form anymore.

"Then what should we do? M-maybe you could give these to her then?" The Toucanmon begged.

"Since you're still loyal to her, you don't mind if she decides to go on a date with you, right?" The other Toucanmon asked.

I guess Digimon doesn't care about gender here. A date's a date. BlackGatomon noted. "Now… where would the fun be if I just handed them all to her? Even I don't want to just hand everything over to Ranamon. I have a better idea of what you could do with these."

"What do you mean?" One of the Toucanmon asked.

"How about you take them to a town on a continent, and sell them?" BlackGatomon suggested. "Ranamon has a lot of other fans, so if you sell them, you get to make some money, and they'll be taken to Ranamon, eventually. And you b-... erm… Toucanmon, won't have to worry about going on a date with her." I honestly can't tell if they're all boys, so better safe than sorry.

The Toucanmon all huddled together, whispering and murmuring to each other before they all seemed to agree on whatever they were talking about.

The group split apart and faced BlackGatomon. "You know what? That's a good idea." The first Toucanmon said. "We could use that money to spruce up the beach house too!"

"Just don't spend all that money on something you can't use," BlackGatomon warned.

"We won't. Thanks for the idea, maybe you're not such a bad Digimon," The more aggressive Toucanmon complimented.

"Just be sure not to tell Ranamon what I said if you see her again," BlackGatomon requested. "Since that could get us all in trouble."

"We promise!" The four Toucanmon said as one.

"Good luck then~" BlackGatmon grinned. I think Lopmon's been rubbing off on me. That was way too easy. Or maybe Salamon's a lot more devious than I thought. Could also be the dark digivolution affecting our way of thinking. Great, now he's got me overthinking everything.

The Toucanmon picked up the D-Tectors and put them into their shells for safe keeping.

"We better prepare ourselves for take off!" The Toucanmon said.

Well, I've done what I had to, to get this back on track. The clock is still ticking down. BlackGatomon sighed. Hopefully I won't regret this…

---

After searching for the Toucanmon, to no avail, under the blazing hot sun, the group had to take a break. They were currently lying under the roof of the now abandoned beach house. Takuya was lying on a bench on his back, with Tommy sitting next to him, putting his hat on his lap, looking rather tired. Patamon lay on Takuya's stomach, while Lopmon was sitting on Tommy's hat and lap himself.

"Having dark colored fur in the hot sunlight means I absorb a lot of heat…" Lopmon groaned. "Too bad I'm not a fire Digimon…"

Takuya gave a flinch at Lopmon's words. "Way to remind me I'm feeling like I'm missing half of myself…" He grumbled. "It's like… I feel incomplete or something…"

"Don't worry… I'm sure we'll find those guys and get you your Spirits back," Patamon assured.

"It sucks though… that I have to go through this again after getting Kumamon back from Grumblemon…" Tommy sighed.

"At least you have experience, right?" Labramon said, hoping to lighten things up a little.

"Doesn't mean it's a good thing," Koji grumbled. "And besides, at least last time, the rest of us were still able to Spirit Evolve. But now we only have one person who can Spirit Evolve while the rest of us are pretty much dead weight."

"Don't say it like that." Lopmon frowned. "You're lowering everyone's morale. We'll be sure to get your Spirits back, just you wait."

"Yeah. We just have to be patient," Kokuwamon added.

"I guess…" JP sighed as he looked down, seeming to be deep in thought about something.

"What are you thinking about, JP?" Kokuwamon asked, noticing JP seemed to be thinking.

JP gave another sigh.

Zoe, seeing how troubled JP looked, walked over to him. "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll find your Spirits soon."

"Yeah, we can't give up hope too easily," Biyomon added.

"Huh? What was that?" JP asked, blinking.

"Weren't you thinking about your D-Tector?" Zoe asked.

JP blinked and he started to blush as he turned his head down. "Um… well… actually… I was wondering if… you know… you'd be like that…"

"Huh? Like what?" Zoe frowned, wondering what JP was getting at.

"Like… Calmaramon…" JP clarified. "I was wondering if you'd be scary like that when you get your Beast Spirit."

Zoe gaped before she shook her head. "I don't know. We can't say for sure what my Beast Spirit will look like since none of us have seen it yet. Besides, I'm nothing like her!"

"Of course…" Labramon said with doubt dripping in her voice.

"Hey! Say that like you mean it!" Zoe snapped.

"It doesn't matter how you'd look," Biyomon grumbled. "What matters is what you'll do with that power. Besides, you don't have to be good or evil to look nice or nasty. And considering the pattern, you'd likely not be able to control your Beast Spirit as soon as you get it, which could put the rest of us in danger."

"Especially without our Spirits to defend ourselves," Tommy added worriedly.

"Hey, the rest of us can help you control your Beast Spirit." Kokuwamon reassured Zoe. "It will be difficult to do, but I think we can do it."

"I appreciate your encouragement, but I'll always be a calm, cool, collected Digimon," Zoe said with confidence. "Just you watch and see."

"Yeah…" Biyomon said softly. "Of course."

"But how are you so sure you'd be able to control yourself?" Tommy questioned.

"I'll tell you how!" Zoe smirked. "Because I'm a girl! And girls know how to handle power when they need to!"

"Isn't that a bit of a sexist mindset?" Lopmon frowned. "A beast is a beast, doesn't matter if they're a boy or a girl."

Zoe blushed a bit. "I guess you have a point, Lopmon…" She admitted sheepishly. "But what I'm saying is that having power doesn't make one scary."

"Maybe, but still…" Takuya began before he saw 4 things in the sky trying to fly away. "Hey! It's the Toucanmon!"

"Where are they going!?" Tommy yelled when he and the others saw them.

"Biyomon, Patamon, Kokuwamon, can't you three go after them?" Zoe asked.

Biyomon, Patamon, and Kokuwamon looked at each other for a moment.

"And leave you kids alone while you're without your D-Tectors? That'd be stupid, you'll be eaten alive," Patamon quickly said.

"Yeah, but… we don't know where the Toucanmon are going." JP pointed out. "If we don't know where they went, we can't get our D-Tectors back."

The others had to admit, JP had a point.

"JP's right. We at least need to know where those bird-brains are headed." Koji agreed. "Otherwise we've lost our Spirits and D-Tectors for good."

"Then one of us should scout them," Patamon decided.

"I'll do it then," Biyomon volunteered. "Since I'm a bird Digimon too, they're less likely to notice me following them."

"Are you sure, Biyomon?" Zoe asked, worried about her Digimon friend going out there alone.

"I'll be fine. Besides, with how slow they're flying, I doubt the Toucanmon can fly for very long anyway," Biyomon assured.

"Good luck, and be safe," Patamon said.

Biyomon nodded before she flapped her wings and flew up into the sky, going after the Toucanmon.

As Biyomon closed in on the 4 Toucanmon, she could see they were already out of breath as they were flapping their wings as hard as they could to stay in the air. They were sweating up a storm as well.

The Toucanmon that was in the front of the group looked back at them. He didn't notice Biyomon was following them, he was more focused on trying to stay in the air while looking cool. "You weaklings… how can you… be tired already? … We just… took off… for Cherubimon's sake!"

"We're… not used to… flying! Give… us a break…!" The second Toucanmon snapped back.

"We… need to… practice flying…" The third Toucanmon groaned out in exhaustion.

"Besides… don't be so quick… to burn feathers… you're breathing heavy too!" The fourth Toucanmon snapped.

"I'm just… copying you guys… so you don't… feel so bad!" The first Toucanmon replied.

Wow, these guys really can't fly for very long. Biyomon sweatdropped. At least it's easy to keep up with them. I just have to make sure I keep my distance.

The 4 Toucanmon fell for a moment before they flapped their wings harder to get back into the sky.

"S-since you're tired, we'll land…" The first Toucanmon suggested before he looked down to see an island up ahead. "Oh thank heavens… I mean… y-you guys are lucky it's close!"

The Toucanmon began to descend on the island. Biyomon stopped following them when she saw them landing. She frowned as she looked at the area around the island. She saw the whirlpools. She knew what was under those whirlpools.

No… if only we had more time… Biyomon frowned. But… it… has to be done…

Biyomon shut her eyes for a moment, lamenting the situation, before she opened her eyes and flew back to the others.

She felt a sinking feeling in her gut as she flew back. Why does this have to be happening?! These stupid rules, the stupid mastermind, this is all so unfair! We can't do much of anything, and soon, we have to leave the kids! Biyomon thought in distress and anger. This isn't some game! These are people that are being messed with!

Before long, Biyomon landed on the beach where the others were waiting.

"Did you see where they went, Biyomon?" Takuya asked.

Zoe frowned, seeing that something seemed to be bothering Biyomon. Biyomon nodded to Takuya before she pointed at the island not too far away.

"They landed on that island over there," Biyomon answered.

"Right! Then we should be able to swim there!" Takuya decided. "Tommy, you and JP should stay here, we'll-"

Takuya suddenly fell into the shallow water.

"Takuya?" Zoe asked in surprise.

"Looks like something got a hold of his foot," Patamon noted as he flew over the water Takuya fell into.

A small white Digimon with green eyes and red hair on its head popped up. The Digimon had large black claws on its… paws… and purple markings around its eyes and on its head.

"Um… What Digimon is this?" Takuya asked in surprise.

"I'm Gomamon!" The seal-like Digimon answered.

"Well whatever you are, let go of my foot," Takuya grumbled as he pulled his foot away from the Digimon's claws.

"Sorry, but I had to stop you from swimming to that island," Gomamon explained.

"What? Why?" Takuya asked.

Before Gomamon could answer, more Gomamon began showing up as they popped out of the water. All of them were saying 'hi' to the group.

Patamon landed on the beach before pulling out his book. "Gomamon, they're Rookie level Digimon, Vaccine type. They're aquatic Digimon that like to live in the sea, and they have fish friends they use in their attacks. They're usually friendly and playful."

Zoe's face lit up as she saw the Gomamon. "Awww! How cute!" She squealed, picking up the closest Gomamon and hugging the poor Digimon.

"Hehe, at least she's directing that hug on other cute Rookie level Digimon now." Lopmon chuckled.

"It's been a while since we ran into other Rookie level Digimon," Patamon noted.

---

Meanwhile, back at the hideout, Calamaramon was having another conversation with Mercurymon.

"Thou finally foundth thee's Beast Spirit, yet thou lacks control," Mercurymon noted.

"Yes, well, I am working on that!" Calamaramon huffed.

"Calamaramon," Duskmon spoke up as he walked over to them. "You had BlackGatomon with you when you went to the island, didn't you? Where is BlackGatomon now?"

Calmaramon froze. "Oh… Shoot! I knew I was forgetting something!"

Duskmon hissed. "You forgot BlackGatomon!?"

An intense aura shot out of Duskmon when he shouted that.

"There were many things that went down! I didn't mean to forget!" Calmaramon wailed as she wiggled her tentacles anxiously. "Me getting my Beast Spirit, fighting those brats, the Toucanmon fan club, it all happened so fast! I didn't mean to, I swear!"

"Then I will go to that island and get her myself!" Duskmon hissed. "You better hope she's okay, or you'll start losing those tentacles one by one."

Despite not even having his own Beast Spirit, Duskmon was clearly far stronger than Calmaramon, he could easily make good with his threat.

"I'm sure BlackGatomon is alright! She is a Champion level Digimon, and there aren't any big threats on that island!" Calmaramon quickly said. "I'll go back there now and pick her up, don't worry!" And if I'm lucky, I can teach those brats a lesson while I'm at it!

Duskmon looked at Calmaramon. "If you end up hurting her, there will be a new Warrior of Water to replace you."

Calmaramon nodded. "I promise I won't." She exclaimed. At least I hope I don't… Oh, ol' eyeballs is really scaring me right now!

"It would seem Duskmon's grown quite the attachment to BlackGatomon," Mercurymon noted. "If thou's not careful, that could become's thou's weakness."

Duskmon looked at Mercurymon before he calmly responded back. "It could be a weakness… but it could also be a strength."

Mercurymon gave a smirk. "Not a remark I expected from thou. Very clever comeback."

"I mean what I said." Duskmon retorted as his blades gleamed dangerously. "Fighting for oneself gives you strength. But fighting for another makes you grow stronger."

Duskmon looked back at Calmaramon. "Don't forget BlackGatomon this time."

"I won't, okay?" Calmaramon quickly said. Talk about intense. I better learn to control this Beast Form ASAP so I can bring back his precious kitten before he cuts me down.

---

Back on the island, Gomamon were explaining why they stopped the kids from going out to the other island.

"We didn't want you guys going out there. The water may look inviting, but it's very dangerous," A Gomamon said to Takuya while the others were looking at the other Gomamon. Zoe was still hugging one.

Biyomon, Patamon, Labramon, Kokuwamon, and Lopmon seemed to get along with the Gomamon, being fellow Rookies and all. It was also nice to not worry about having to fight or defend against hostile Digimon for a change.

"What do you mean it's dangerous?" Takuya asked.

"You see all that foam near the island you wanted to swim to?" Gomamon asked. "That foam is caused by a never ending whirlpool."

"It's true, when I was by the island earlier, I saw whirlpools around the island," Biyomon confirmed. "I was about to warn you guys before the Gomamon stopped you."

"Wow…" Takuya gulped. "I guess we owe you Gomamon big time…"

"We should know, since that island used to be our home." The first Gomamon explained. "But we can't get back there now because of those whirlpools…"

"Isn't there like a secret way to get on the island?" JP asked.

"I wish there were, but the only other way on the island is by the air," Gomamon sighed. "Sadly, we Gomamon are unable to fly."

Zoe looked down, feeling sorry for the Gomamon. "So you're cut off, huh? That's so sad…"

"That's right…" Gomamon sighed. "You see… it happened a few weeks ago. We lived happily and peacefully on that island. Then one day, while we went out to play and get some food, there was a sudden earthquake. The whirlpools suddenly appeared. We tried to get back on the island, but the whirlpools were too strong. We haven't been able to get back home since then."

"If this happened a few weeks ago, then something must have triggered the earthquake." Koji mused. "Earthquakes don't happen randomly."

"You think maybe Grumblemon might've caused it?" Tommy suggested. "He was the one responsible for a lot of the earthquakes that caused damage to the Digital World, and trapping Digimon in unexpected places, like with Whamon."

"Maybe, but why would Grumblemon be way out on an island doing that? He's not the Warrior of Water, he'd risk drowning himself," Lopmon pointed out.

"Hey, hasn't it been at least a few weeks by now since you guys arrived in the Digital World?" Kokuwamon asked.

"Oh yeah, I haven't been keeping track of the days, but it has been at least a little while, hasn't it?" Labramon realized.

"I'd say that's about accurate." Takuya noted. "It feels longer, but I'm pretty sure we have been here for a few weeks."

"But does that have to do anything with the whirlpools now?" Zoe asked.

"I doubt it's related, it's probably just a coincidence," JP shrugged.

"Regardless, that means we're going to have a hard time catching up to the Toucanmon now," Koji grumbled.

"Maybe… maybe Biyomon, Patamon, and Kokuwamon could fly there and get the D-Tectors back from the Toucanmon?" Zoe suggested.

"Just the three of us? That's risky." Patamon frowned. "If we get hurt, we wouldn't be able to get back to you guys for help."

"And I'd be in danger of falling into the ocean again, and we all know how well that went the first time," Kokuwamon shivered.

Everyone winced at the reminder of what happened to Kokuwamon with Whamon's attack.

"Then what can we do?" Tommy asked uncertainly. "We can't just let those Toucanmon get away again."

"Maybe our best bet is to find a big flying Digimon who might be willing to carry us to the island," Taokuya guessed.

"Yeah, that should work, after all, the whirlpool can't get you in the air," Gomamon agreed.

"Though we'll have to get lucky to find someone like that who's willing to help us before the Toucanmon fly away again." Koji frowned.

"It's better than nothing, right?" JP asked.

Zoe looked at the Gomamon, seeing them looking back at the island that was once their home. Biyomon looked at them as well, then at Zoe.

Zoe looked at Biyomon. Biyomon, already knowing what Zoe was thinking, gave her a nod. Zoe gave a smile at that.

"I'll see if I can help you guys out." Zoe said as she looked at the Gomamon. "I'm sure there must be a reason why the whirlpools started up, maybe I can see it from the air."

"You're not gonna see much from the air," Biyomon said. "But since we share a common goal, we should work together. The Gomamon want to get back home, and we need to get to that island."

"Are you sure?" Gomamon asked. "We don't want to be a burden. And we'll be fine out here, if we swim on the edges of the whirlpool, sometimes we can see our friends and family."

"Come on!" Zoe spoke up, surprising the Gomamon. "Are you trying to tell me you're not at least a little bit sad? Watching all of your friends and family from afar, not being able to talk to them? Well I don't buy it! There's no way you're okay with this."

The Gomamon looked down.

"What you're saying is true… but… we try to ignore that since we'd get all depressed if we don't…" Gomamon sighed.

"Then that settles it! You're all going to come with us!" Zoe spoke up.

"That's a nice sentiment and all, but how would we be able to help the Gomamon get back to their island?" JP asked.

"I'm sure there must be a way," Zoe said.

"We can't even help ourselves," Koji grumbled. "I mean… we don't even have our D-Tectors anymore… what good are we?"

"Koji…" Labramon frowned.

Zoe frowned as well. Biyomon looked up at Zoe for a moment before she looked at the other guys. She honestly didn't want them going out there, for more reason than the obvious, but… Zoe was determined to help the Gomamon as well as their friends. Biyomon also understood where Zoe was coming from. It wouldn't be right to try to discourage her from this noble goal just because Biyomon didn't want her finding her Beast Spirit.

"That's a great excuse if you want to give up," Biyomon suddenly said, surprising the others.

"Biyomon?" Zoe blinked.

"Just remember, while you guys were Spirit Evolving and taking on big threats, the rest of us had been unable to go past our Rookie stage, we might as well be as weak as your human forms. And yet we were able to help you get this far. No matter how badly beaten we got, no matter how outmatched or way over our heads we were, we didn't give up on protecting you guys until you were able to finally defeat the powerful foe who had all of us down," Biyomon stated. "Even without your Spirits, you kids are still getting stronger, you were able to fight back against Ranamon without our help. So stop talking so negatively, you're only humans right now, but you're resourceful, and you have friends who can and will help you."

Koji blinked before he sighed. "Yeah, you raise a good point." He conceded. "I'm just so used to having the ability to Spirit Evolve, I guess I fell into the thought process of 'being human means helpless'." He admitted. "Boy, did I need a reminder I'm not helpless as a human."

"Nice speech, Biyomon. Couldn't have said it better myself." Lopmon smiled.

Biyomon blushed a little. To be honest, I got the idea from you in a way. Not that you know what I'm thinking…

"I agree with Biyomon." Zoe said. "Sure it'll be tough, but I believe we'll be able to do what we need to if we put our minds to it."

Zoe looked at the Gomamon. "So come on, guys, let's get you back to your home, okay?"

"After that speech, I don't think we can say no even if we wanted to. Even though we're Rookie Digimon ourselves… it's good to know we might be capable of more than we know," Gomamon admitted.

"I just hope this works," Zoe said softly.

"If it doesn't, we'll make it work," Biyomon said firmly. "We didn't come this far because we gave up when things got tough."

"Biyomon and Zoe are right, we'll be able to do this if we work as a team." Takuya smiled.

"Even without our Spirits, we have been able to accomplish a lot as humans and small Digimon," Koji admitted.

"Then it's decided then, we'll all work together to get to that island." Labramon smiled. "Even the best football players can only do as well as they could if they work together."

"You know about football?" JP asked.

"Even the Digital World has sports," Labramon replied.

"Count me in too," Tommy spoke up. "I'm still learning how to swim, but surely there's something I can do too. And besides, I have experience with being put in dangerous situations without my Spirit."

"True, and if you can survive that, then so could we." JP agreed.

"Alright, then we're in this together!" Kokuwamon stated.

The Gomamon all cheered.

"Then what do we need to do?" Takuya asked.

"Well, we're going to need to be able to traverse across water," Zoe said. "So we'll have to build a raft that's big enough for all of us, minus the Gomamon since they can swim easily."

"Will a raft be enough to get past the whirlpool?" Tommy asked.

"My idea is to try to get as close to the whirlpool as possible to see what's causing it," Zoe answered. "It's not natural for whirlpools to last so long, especially near an island. So there's gotta be something that's causing it."

"That's pretty dangerous, but if it's the best idea we have, I guess it's nothing new to us at this point," JP sighed.

"Then let's get to work," Biyomon said.

---

The children and Digimon were hard at work building the raft. Koji was using a cutting knife he found in the kitchen of the beach house, using it to cut down the palm trees for wood. Tommy, Lopmon, Kokuwamon, and Labramon were carrying the cut down palm trees to the pile. Takuya, Patamon, and the Gomamon were putting the raft together. JP was drawing a blueprint on how the raft should look. Admittedly, he had to change the design a few times since a real sailboat would take them years to make, which is something they couldn't afford.

Zoe and Biyomon were finding cloth for the sail, something they wouldn't need for the raft.

"It's a good thing we learned how to make a sail raft from Togemon's school," Zoe noted.

"Yeah, too bad we couldn't keep that sail boat. It would've come in handy right now," Biyomon agreed. "Though we probably would've had to make it bigger to fit the rest of our group."

"True." Zoe conceded. "I am glad Togemon's school taught us a useful skill though. If we ever see her again, we'll be sure to thank her."

"Yeah… perhaps Gabumon would've even grown more too," Biyomon said. "Just like you guys."

"Like us?" Zoe asked.

"You guys have definitely grown since we met. You've gotten stronger, and more confident," Biyomon answered. "Pretty soon, you might find your Beast Spirit and become even stronger. You'll be able to take on the evil Legendary Warriors, and Cherubimon soon after."

Zoe blinked before smiling. "You think so? That would be great if it did happen!"

"Absolutely." Biyomon replied with a grin of her own, even if she was dreading that this meant they were closer to leaving the children once Tommy had his own Beast Spirit. "You guys will be able to take care of yourselves."

"What do you mean by that?" Zoe asked.

"I just mean you won't have to rely on us protecting you anymore," Biyomon said. "... I guess that means you'll have to start protecting us from now on, huh?"

Zoe giggled. "Oh, don't be so hard on yourselves! You've done well to help us when we need it, so you're not as helpless as you might seem."

"Yeah, I guess not," Biyomon said. "Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to survive as long as we had."

Zoe nodded. "... You know, speaking of Gabumon… I remembered how I was seen as a weirdo among my peers at school. Because I didn't agree with what the other girls were doing, I ended up being seen as a snob. My blonde hair didn't help either, despite growing up in Japan, a lot of the other students saw me as a foreigner."

"I understand how you feel," Biyomon said softly. "When I was in… uh… Digi-school myself, I was considered an outcast. Because I didn't want to be like the other girls in my class either. I wanted to be different, I wanted people to see I was an individual with my own thoughts and feelings, not just another hot face for people to ogle at. But, of course, my peers didn't like that. I only had a few friends in school due to this, but at least I know they're true friends."

"Well, you're lucky then." Zoe sighed. "I didn't have friends, just… I don't know if people even saw me as a friend. Maybe an acquaintance at best, but not a friend-friend, if you know what I mean. I did have a few people I hung out with, but… I was never close to them, or rather, they kept me at a distance. I think it was because I was seen as a snob. I did have someone I could've considered a friend at one point… but… well… things just didn't work out between us."

"... People can be so unfair," Biyomon sighed. "But… you have friends now, don't you?"

Biyomon looked at the other children.

Zoe smiled. "Yeah, I do, I have friends who I can count on despite the issues that may come up. I didn't think I would find friends like them so soon, or so quickly either.."

"And don't forget that you have them to lean on when things get tough," Biyomon said. "After all, I have my own friends to turn to when I need them as well."

Zoe smiled with a nod. "I won't. Everyone needs help every once in a while, even if it nearly took Koji falling off a mountain for him to learn that lesson."

Biyomon snickered. "Yeah, but then again, his pride was getting the better of him, so you can't really fault him for that. I know someone who had some trouble with that too, thankfully he had someone who keeps him grounded."

"Oh really?" Zoe asked.

"But he's a good guy. I know he would never do anything to get someone hurt on purpose," Biyomon said softly. "I think sometimes he feels like he has to shoulder all the responsibility himself when he really shouldn't."

"Well, whoever it is, they have a good friend in you." Zoe smiled. "It sounds like he has a good support system from you and the others."

"Believe me, if it weren't for us, he'd be breaking down from all the responsibilities he feels he has to shoulder." Biyomon agreed with a chuckle.

---

BlackGatomon had been watching this whole thing from afar. She would like to join them, but this was not her role. Her role was back at the hideout with the evil Legendary Warriors. All she could do at the moment was wait. Though it was pretty boring just waiting.

Last time I take Ranamon up on her offer for a vacation trip. BlackGatomon grumbled.

Before long, however, as the sun was starting to set, the kids were able to finish up their sail raft. The raft was big enough for the kids and their Digimon friends to sit on. Zoe and Biyomon installed the sail for the raft so the wind could carry it.

They brought a wooden barrel to the raft for Tommy to sit inside, as a sort of lifeboat for him if he should fall into the water. The kid had an idea on how to swim, thanks to Takuya's lessons, but the lesson had been cut short, so Tommy was in the most danger of drowning if he should fall in.

BlackGatomon wanted to move out from her hiding spot, but again, her role was elsewhere. She sighed. It was difficult for her to remain solo like this for so long after having been a part of a team, even if for a short while. But Duskmon needed her help at the moment.

I hope Duskmon isn't causing too much trouble while I've been gone. BlackGatomon thought to herself. A shiver raced down her spine. He can be very scary when it comes to his worry about my well-being, but who can blame him? I can be the same way with my dad. I hope my dad isn't too worried about me either. How much time has passed in our world?

Those were things she and the others had been worried about when they came into this world. But there wasn't much they could do about it now.

"Alright, let's get this raft on the water and set sail!" Takuya smiled.

"Think you'll be okay in there?" Lopmon asked Tommy, who was in the barrel.

Tommy didn't like being in the water, unless he was swimming in it. But he needed to do this, he wasn't just going to sit on the sidelines while everyone else tried to figure out what was going on with the whirlpools and get the Gomamon back home.

"I'll be fine." Tommy replied. "It's kinda cool to ride in this barrel. It's like I'm a mini-pirate or something!"

Koji was using a paddle to help move and steer the raft. JP was a little down they couldn't use most of his designs, but at least they were able to make a decent sail raft.

Kokuwamon was flying over head, wanting to stay away from the ocean as much as possible.

The Gomamon were swimming around them. The breezy winds began to pick.

"This feels great!" Zoe smiled, feeling the breeze blowing against her hair.

"I never thought I'd get to ride on a raft I helped made on the ocean," Biyomon smiled, feeling the wind against her feathers.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Labramon smiled, having had an experience like this before.

However, as they were getting closer to the island, they could see the whirlpools.

"The Gomamon hadn't been kidding, there really are whirlpools here." Koji frowned.

"They look way bigger up close…" JP gulped nervously.

"Well, we're here now, so we should try to figure out what's causing this. It's likely something at the bottom of the ocean," Patamon remarked.

"But how do we do that?" Koji asked. "These whirlpools will suck down whoever goes to investigate."

"Well, we can't just sit here and speculate on what is causing these whirlpools either." Takuya pointed out grumpily.

"I'll try looking myself then," Zoe volunteered. "I'm the only one who still has her Spirit."

"But you're the Legendary Warrior of Wind, not water! You could drown!" JP pointed out.

"I'll be fine, JP. I might be able to make some kind of oxygen ball around my head to breathe or something," Zoe said.

"Is that possible?" Tommy asked.

"I've never tried it, but there's a first time for every-" Zoe began to say when she was interrupted by a huge tidal wave that was coming right for them.

"TIDAL WAVE!" Everyone screamed.

The tidal wave came crashing down on the group. The kids and Digimon were scattered in the water. Kokuwamon frowned as he was watching from above.

"Gomamon! Can you help my friends!?" Kokuwamon called, being unable to touch the water himself.

"We'll try!" The Gomamon called back as they dived under water.

The Gomamon managed to bring up the kids and the other Digimon from the water, hurriedly getting them back onto the raft. Lopmon was trying to pull Tommy up to shore, since he fell out of the barrel when the tidal wave crashed down on them, but thankfully, a couple of Gomamon spotted them and quickly swam down to them. The Gomamon helped Lopmon bring Tommy up to the surface.

Tommy coughed out some water, thankful for the air. Lopmon and Gomamon swam Tommy over to the raft.

"There's Tommy!" Takuya pointed out, relieved to see the youngest of the group was alright.

Takuya reached out and helped Tommy up onto the raft. "Are you okay?"

Tommy took a moment to breathe some more before answering. "Y-yeah, I'm alright."

"Geez… That was one tidal wave from nowhere…" Koji grumbled as he rang out his bandanna. "We're all soaked now!"

"I think that's going to be the least of our worries, Koji." Labramon frowned.

Lopmon was still in the water with the Gomamon. "Look out!"

Water geysers began spouting from the sea around them, and one geyser in particular lifted up a familiar figure. Ranamon was currently in her Hunam Spirit form, and she grinned at the kids, looking confident.

"Ranamon?!" The kids all gaped as one.

"Yep! Hello again, kiddies~" Ranamon giggled. "If ya'll have any last wishes, now would be the perfect time to make them~!"

Zoe glared as she stood back up. "This sea witch is getting on my nerves!"

"Be careful, Zoe! She was strong last time, and now she has her Beast Spirit!" Koji warned. "She may have learned to control it by now."

"Don't worry, Zoe won't be fighting alone," Biyomon spoke up. "I'll be with her."

"Yeah… the rest of us will do what we can to help," Patamon agreed.

"Just like we always do." Labramon nodded.

Zoe grinned. "Yeah, let's do this!" She said as she took out her D-Tector from her pocket.

Zoe held up her D-Tector as the magenta outline of her Spirit appeared visible on the screen of her D-Tector. Fractal coding appeared on her left hand and she slammed the D-Tector against it as she brought the two together. Zoe then called out the familiar phrase she knew by heart. "Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Her body became data as her clothes ripped away. Coding surrounded her in a cocoon of sorts and the power of her first Spirit flowed into her. Her hair became longer, flowing past her waist and turning a purple color. Her body grew in height, increasing her strength and speed. A bikini-like outfit appeared on her body as gloves, and high boots formed on her arms and legs, with shoulder guards appearing as well as a visor that covered her eyes. Butterfly-like wings appeared on her back and she landed, letting out a cry as she unleashed a kick before she came to a stop and said her name. "Kazemon!"

Now evolved as Kazemon, she was ready for round two. Biyomon flew up by her side.

Kokuwamon stayed in the air as well. Patamon flew up to join them. Labramon couldn't watch, but she was waiting for an opportunity to do something in the battle. Lopmon had one of his ears hanging onto the raft, but he was still in the water. He was analyzing the situation.

"Let's start this off with a kick!" Kazemon shouted as she began kicking at Ranamon.

"Pathetic," Ranamon laughed as she created a wall of water, easily stopping Kazemon's kicks.

"Power Surge!" Kokuwamon shot out electricity from his head at the wall of water.

This surprised Ranamon and she was shocked by the attack.

"Too bad for you, water conducts electricity," Kokuwamon stated.

As soon as Ranamon let down her water wall, Biyomon and Patamon didn't hesitate to attack.

"Spiral Twister!"

"Boom Bubble!"

Ranamon hissed as the fiery little tornado and the air bubble slammed into her. They were annoying, but she was still much stronger than a couple of Rookie level Digimon.

"You little imps!" Ranamon screeched. "You are not supposed to be this strong! I am the Warrior of Water! This is my turf, you understand?!" Normally, Ranamon would not be this angry, but these Rookie Digimon had been an annoyance for far too long.

"We've fought with Grumblemon before, we're not taking it easy on you. We know how strong you Legendary Warriors are," Biyomon hissed.

"Fine then! I'll take all of you out at once!" Ranamon snapped before a dark cloud appeared over their heads. "Draining Rain!"

The rain came down quickly. Kokuwamon, Patamon, Biyomon, and Kazemon were hit. Kazemon lost her energy quickly and began falling. Biyomon and Patamon quickly grabbed onto Kokuwamon to keep him from falling into the ocean as well.

"Oh no! Zoe!" Takuya called out.

JP reached up and caught Kokuwamon, as well as Patamon and Biyomon. They were all pretty heavy, but they couldn't move after being hit by the Draining Rain.

Kazemon, unfortunately, was caught up in the whirlpool.

"She was no match for me~" Ranamon grinned smugly.

"Retriever Bark!" Labramon shot out a loud sound at Ranamon, distracting her for a moment.

"Why you little pest!" Ranamon growled.

"We're not out of the fight yet," Labramon growled.

Ranamon was about to summon a dark cloud over the raft, hoping to drown them all at once, when a pink fish suddenly leaped up and tackled her for a second before it went back into the water.

"What was that?" Ranamon blinked.

Suddenly, hundreds of colorful fishes jumped out of the water and began tackling Ranamon all at once. Takuya and the others blinked, shocked.

"What's going on?" Takuya asked.

"Look! The Gomamon!" Koji pointed out.

The Gomamon were currently making the fishes jump at Ranamon relentlessly, and in front of the group of Gomamon was Lopmon, who was riding on one of the Gomamon.

"Lopmon?" Tommy blinked.

"Don't stop, keep going! Don't let her get a chance to take a breath!" Lopmon called out.

The fish kept leaping out of the water at Ranamon while Labramon unleashed her Retriever Bark again and again at the Warrior of Water.

This is just like last time, when we were fighting against Grumblemon. Our Digimon were doing everything they could to keep fighting back. Tommy realized.

Despite only being Rookie level Digimon, the Gomamon were doing their best to fight back. Ranamon growled as she lost her patience and began summoning more water around the Gomamon and Lopmon.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ranamon shouted.

Several of the Gomamon were flung into the air, getting scattered a little. It was enough to stop their fish attacks. Lopmon grabbed onto the Gomamon he had been riding on and poofed out his ears.

"We may be weak compared to you… be we are stubborn and relentless," Lopmon stated to Ranamon.

"Oh, you are certainly relentless, you little pest!" Ranamon hissed in anger. "You've been a thorn in Lord Cherubimon's side for a while now! Now take this! Water Whip!"

Ranamon summoned a whip of water from the ocean, and had it come at Lopmon and Gomamon.

"Bubble Deflector!" Gomamon cried out as he created a watery bubble around himself and Lopmon.

The whip slammed into the bubble, quickly popping it and sending Gomamon and Lopmon into the water. Ranamon summoned another whip of water again as Lopmon came up to the surface. He gasped as the whip hit him in the head, causing him to, surprisingly, bleed a little.

"Lopmon!" Tommy shouted in worry. "You leave him alone!"

"And why should I?" Ranamon grinned sinisterly. "I can eliminate one of the pests once and for all, right here, right now~ And when I'm done, I'll be testing my Beast Spirit on all of you~"

Ranamon began to have her Water Whip come at Lopmon again. Lopmon looked back up at her and glared. Something about Lopmon's glare made Ranamon stop.

"You…" Ranamon gasped, sensing a familiarity about that glare. It was one of power, one of wisdom, and one of resolve. It held a great promise of payback if something happened to any of these children. But how? It's just a little Lopmon! Why would his little glare paralyze me so much? Mercurymon couldn't have been right about this tiny Digimon holding his data, could he?

"Why did she stop?" Takuya asked, seeing what was going on.

Biyomon was trying to push herself back up. "Zoe…"

Meanwhile, Kazemon was being pulled deeper into the ocean as the whirlpool had her in its clutches. She was severely weakened from the Draining Rain, and the rough ride of the whirlpool made it even harder for her. She lost her grip on her form, and was forced to turn back into her human form.

No… I can't fail here… the others are counting me! Zoe thought as she was sinking further and further down. Please… I have to keep going… I have to get back up there!

Then… suddenly, the pressure and heavy feeling of being pulled underwater was lifted. There was light, and bubbles that were gently flowing around Zoe. She opened her eyes, shocked. And she let out a gasp… she was able to breathe. Despite being underwater, there was air going into her lungs.

"How is this possible?" Zoe wondered aloud to herself. "I can breathe despite being underwater…?"

Glancing down, Zoe saw light below her. "It's so bright…"

As she descended lower and lower, Zoe caught sight of a shell that was pink in color before it opened to reveal a Spirit. This Spirit had blue feathery hair and wings coming from the sides of its head. It wore an outfit that was similar to Kazemon's and it had eagle-like wings emerging from the back as well. This Spirit also sat on a hexagonal base like the others.

"No way…" Zoe grinned. "It's my Beast Spirit!"

Zoe held out her D-Tector towards the Spirit and it was sucked into the scanner of her D-Tector.

Her Beast Spirit acquired, Zoe began to ascend from the water, as if the air itself was pushing her to the surface.

Ranamon had hesitated too long, because Gomamon came back over to Lopmon. Lopmon stopped glaring as he smiled at Gomamon.

"Thanks," Lopmon said gratefully as he got onto Gomamon's back.

"No problem. We're in this together after all," Gomamon said back.

Ranamon hissed now that Lopmon stopped glaring at her. Come on, now, pull yourself together! Just finish these annoying brats off!

However, before Ranamon could do anything, she noticed something odd. The whirlpools had suddenly stopped.

"Hey, what happened to the whirlpools?" JP asked.

"They're… gone?" Koji blinked.

Then suddenly, another large water geyser shot out of the water. Only this time, Ranamon wasn't the one doing it. She was taken aback by surprise as the water dissipated, showing Zoe floating there.

"It's Zoe! She's okay!" JP smiled in relief.

"Yeah… she did it." Biyomon weakly smiled.

"How is she flying like that in her human form?" Tommy asked in awe.

"It's the wind…" Patamon replied weakly. "It's… supporting her…"

"The wind?" Koji asked, surprised. "Then… what does that mean?"

"She found it… Her Beast Spirit…" Biyomon explained.

"No! How can that be!?" Ranamon shouted.

"Don't worry about that," Zoe said as she grinned at Ranamon. "Worry about what's about to happen to you!"

Zoe held out her D-Tector as she activated her new Beast Spirit.

The magenta outline of her Beast Spirit was shown on the D-Tector's screen as Zoe held up her hand, fractal code forming a ball around it. She slammed the D-Tector against the ball of code, scanning it. "Execute! Beast Spirit Evolution!" Zoe cried as the code surrounded her and the process began. Zoe cried out as the pure primal power of the Beast Spirit flowed into her body. She felt wings sprouting from her back and the sides of her head as her hands became clawed and she gained clawed feet as well. She landed, crying out her name. "Zephyrmon!"

The fractal code dissipated, revealing the new Beast Warrior of Wind.

"Whoa! Who is that!?" Takuya asked in shock, though it wasn't an unwelcome shock.

Patamon managed to recover enough to stand up, and pulling out his book, which remained nice and dry in that mysterious pocket dimension that was the bellywarmer.

"That's Zephyrmon, the Legendary Warrior of Beast's Beast Form," Patamon stated. "Although she seems humanoid, she is definitely categorized as a beast. She's a bird woman with strong features to birds of prey."

"Way to go, Zephyrmon. Guess it's time for you to clean up," Lopmon chuckled. "That is if you have control over your Beast Spirit. If not, it's time to get the heck out of here."

Zephyrmon did flare her wings to look intimidating to the Warrior of Water, but she seemed to be in control. "This sea witch is going down!"

Everyone, except Ranamon, seemed to be relieved that Zephyrmon wasn't going on a violent rampage like the others had.

"Oh good, we don't have to deal with tornadoes coming at us…" Kokuwamon said in relief.

Ranamon however, seemed to be quite angry, though not because Zoe found her Beast Spirit, but because of something completely different.

"You're pretty! Your Beast Spirit made you pretty!" Ranamon shouted in frustration.

Zoe went from this little girl, to this grown looking beast woman that it just fired up Ranamon. It didn't help that Calmaramon was more on the squid beast side than the beautiful woman side.

"Hmph! There's no way you're prettier than me, that's not even possible…" Ranamon began, trying to keep her cool, but it didn't take long for her to throw a tantrum and shout. "BUT EVEN IF YOU ARE PRETTIER THAN ME, IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING! Do you have adoring fans all over the world who worship you!?"

Zephyrmon didn't say anything, she just kept looking at Ranamon.

"I didn't think so!" Ranamon humphed.

"Who needs fans?" Zephyrmon countered in a gentle, calm voice. "I have my friends to support me. That's enough for me. Besides, for a Legendary Warrior of Water, you sure give off a lot of hot air."

Ranamon began steaming at that comment. "Oh, you're gonna pay, sugar! Dark Vapor!"

Ranamon threw out a black mist at Zephyrmon. "How's that? That mist will melt just about anything! So, have your feathers started molting?"

Ranamon grinned, until she noticed that Zephyrmon didn't seem to be affected by the Dark Vapor. "Huh? Why is nothing happening?"

Zephyrmon's control of wind was so precise, that she was able to blow away the Dark Vapor subtly, keeping it from ever touching her.

"How precise is your control over water?" Zephyrmon chuckled. "You sure like to spout a lot of bluster, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Ranamon snapped.

"I think it's time you learned how to show some respect," Zephyrmon responded as her hands and feet began to glow, creating red balls of energy. "Plasma Paws!"

Zephyrmon flew forward and quickly. This surprised Ranamon, but she managed to have her water geyser push her up to avoid the attack directly. Zephyrmon easily sliced through the geyser, causing it to shut off and making Ranamon fall into the ocean in a silly-like fashion, humiliating her.

"That's probably the worst thing she could do to someone as vain as Ranamon," Lopmon noted as he watched the action from Gomamon's back.

"I guess that means we'll be in for a rough ride soon," Gomamon commented worriedly.

"Don't jinx us…" Lopmon grumbled.

"Alright, Zoe! That was awesome!" Takuya called out.

"And she seems to be able to control her Beast Spirit!" Koji smiled.

"Yeah," Tommy agreed. "Isn't she amazing, JP? … Uh… JP?"

JP was staring at Zephyrmon with his eyes wide and sparkling, and his mouth smiling while hanging open. Tommy looked at JP and sighed.

"Actually it's not that surprising when you look at Zephyrmon," Patamon said. "She's got some human traits on her, so Zephyrmon likely has less intense animalistic instincts for Zoe to worry about. And Zoe's got plenty of experience with how you guys lost control, so I'm sure she's trying hard to make sure she keeps her head."

"So that explains why Zoe isn't losing control like the rest of us did." Koji noted. "That explains it better than I thought."

"It's also a relief that we don't have to worry about two Legendary Warriors coming after us while you guys can't do much to fight back," Labramon chuckled. "Imagine if Takuya was the one to find his Beast Spirit here instead."

"Please… don't even joke about that… I don't even want to think about it…" Takuya groaned.

"I swear, you guys like to bring up one of us losing control of our Beast Spirits." Koji grumbled.

"To be fair, you guys almost did us in when you lost control," Kokuwamon stated.

"I'm… sure you'll get to live it down, someday," Tommy chuckled sheepishly.

"Hey, you might end up joining the club some day, Tommy, so don't start talking big!" JP huffed.

"Guys, we're not out of the water yet!" Patamon spoke up. "Ranamon is still able to fight."

As if on cue, Ranamon came up to the surface of the water and she growled. "That's it! No more Ms. Nice Water Warrior!"

Fractal code surrounded Ranamon's body. "Ranamon slide evolution! Calmaramon!"

The giant squid beast had finally made her reappearance.

"Wow… she's not just ugly, but she stinks too…" Biyomon groaned, putting a wing on her beak.

Calmaramon glared at the group on the raft, having heard Biyomon's words. "What did you just say about me?!"

Zephyrmon saw where Calmaramon was looking and flew at her. "Leave them alone, squid face!"

Zephyrmon slashed at Calmaramon with her claws to get her attention off of the group on the raft.

"Oooh, you anger me so!" Calmaramon hissed as she looked at Zephyrmon. " You won't be so pretty when I'm through with you, sweet heart!"

Calmaramon was huge, much bigger than Zephyrmon. Though size didn't matter, it was still worrying to see how Zephyrmon, the only one among the group who could fight back against someone like Calmaramon, was being towered over by the ugly she-squid.

"Zoe! Be careful!" JP called out.

"Don't worry… I'm sure she's got this," Biyomon reassured.

"Acid Ink!" Calmaramon spat out black ink from her mouth at Zephyrmon.

Zephyrmon flew up to avoid the Acid Ink attack. Flying behind Calmaramon, the other Beast Digimon was about to attack, but Calmaramon spun around and let loose another Acid Ink, which Zephyrmon avoided again. This time, the ink landed on a rock and began to eat away at it.

Calmaramon snickered. "That's what will happen to your friends~" She taunted before turning to the group on the raft. "Enjoy~" She spat out more acidic ink at the raft and its occupants.

Zephyrmon saw this and flew in as quickly as she could. She slashed at the Acid Ink, sending it away from the group, but a small bit landed on one of her wings, slowly eating away at her feathers.

Seeing how Calmaramon had the advantage, since Zephyrmon had to protect her friends, she began spitting out more acid ink in the direction of the raft. Zephyrmon continued trying to swing the ink away. Though Calmaramon was a little confused as to why the other children hadn't tried to Spirit Evolve themselves, she was beginning to realize that something may have happened to their powers. That was just fine for her, it made her job a whole lot easier.

Taking advantage of Zephyrmon's distraction with the Acid Ink attacks, a tentacle crept up on Zephyrmon from below and wrapped itself around her, catching her off guard.

"Awww, I'm just too good!" Calmaramon laughed. "Now i have you trapped like a rat~"

This isn't good. While Zoe was able to get her Beast Form, this is her first time using it, so she's inexperienced. Calmaramon had some time to get used to her Beast Form. Lopmon noted as he was watching the fight. It's clear that Zephyrmon won't be able to face Calmaramon by herself, especially since she also has to protect us at the same time.

Lopmon looked down at the Gomamon he was riding on, and looked at the other Gomamon who were watching the battle as well, unsure of what to do. It's too early to give up. Calmaramon may have experience and power on her side, but Zephyrmon has us.

"Gomamon," Lopmon said, getting Gomamon's attention. "Can you and the others still fight?"

"Yeah, we can. But I don't know how much of a help we would be." Gomamon confirmed. "Calmaramon is a Legendary Warrior after all."

"We don't have to win against her," Lopmon stated before grinning. "We just have to make sure she loses."

"Oh, I see what you mean." Gomamon grinned as well. "Alright, everyone! We're not going to let this giant squid bully us anymore! We're still Digimon after all!"

"Yeah! That's right!" The other Gomamon called out.

The Gomamon began swimming toward Calmaramon, their eyes burning with determination.

"Hey, look at the Gomamon!" Tommy pointed out.

"What's going on?" Koji asked, surprised.

"We're not giving up yet," Lopmon spoke up to them. "There's still a chance."

"Marching Fishes!" The Gomamon shouted.

Countless colorful fishes jumped out of the water and began battering at Calmaramon's massive body.

"That's right… we haven't lost yet," Labramon agreed as she stood at the edge of the raft. "I'll do what I can to help too!"

"Yeah, we will too," Patamon agreed.

"We may be weakened, but we can still fight," Kokuwamon added.

Biyomon got up on her talons as well. "We'll help Zoe in any way we can."

"Retriever Bark!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Power Surge!"

"Spiral Twister!"

All of their attacks hit Calmaramon as well. Attacks from one Rookie were easy to ignore, but attacks from several of them were getting quite painful.

"You little imps! How dare you!" Calmaramon shouted in anger. "This is supposed to be my time! I have my Beast Spirit, and I am stronger than all of you! How come I am having so much trouble against all of you and these brats?!"

"It should be obvious why," Lopmon said. "You've caused trouble and problems for everyone. Even the smallest of Digimon will fight back if you corner them enough."

"Yeah! You tell that ugly piece of sushi off!" JP cheered.

"What did you say!?" Calmaramon shouted angrily at JP.

JP wanted to cower and hide away, but he stood his ground despite being scared out of his wits. "You heard me! You're nothing but an ugly piece of sushi!"

"That's right! You're just a big, stinky squid that spits out ugly ink that's so ugly that you melt everything!" Tommy added.

Koji, seeing how this was distracting Calmaramon, decided to join in on the name calling.

"You're so ugly, not even a fish lover would want to kiss you!" Koji shot back.

Takuya couldn't resist joining in on it. "Boy, do you smell! You stink like rotten fish on land for a few days!"

"SHUT IT! YOU ARE ALL SO DEAD!" Calmaramon screamed angrily, though instead of letting Zephyrmon go, she squeezed her tighter.

Zephyrmon cried out in pain at the squeezing taking place.

"It's not working, guys! We're just making it worse!" Koji shouted, seeing that Zephyrmon was in more pain.

"W-what else can we do then!?" Takuya frowned.

"If only I still had Kumamon… I could freeze those tentacles and shatter them." Tommy regretfully frowned.

"Freeze the tentacles?" Lopmon repeated when he heard Tommy's lament. "The tentacles are wet, so they may be susceptible to ice attacks… that might be our best chance."

"What do you plan to do?" The Gomamon Lopmon was riding on asked.

Lopmon thought for a moment before a risky idea hit him. "Gomamon… I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you get me closer to Calmaramon?"

"W-why?" Gomamon asked nervously.

"I need to get close to Zephyrmon and see if I can freeze the tentacle that binds her," Lopmon answered. "But I can't get close to Calmaramon on my own."

Gomamon looked uncertain, but considering the risk these humans and Rookie Digimon were taking to help them, it only seemed like the right thing to do to help them. So, Gomamon nodded. "Okay. I'll see what I can do. Just don't expect it to be so easy."

"I know… just try to get as close to Zephyrmon as you can," Lopmon instructed.

Gomamon began swimming towards Calmaramon, hoping to use the chaos of the battle that was going on as cover. Calmaramon likely wouldn't notice one Gomamon swimming toward her, but it was still a risky plan. Even if Calmaramon didn't notice them, her movements would cause waves to push Gomamon back. But still, Gomamon and Lopmon were determined to keep pushing through.

Biyomon noticed Gomamon with Lopmon swimming closer to Calmaramon. Surely, there was still a way they could save Zephyrmon. Despite being drained, Biyomon stretched out her wings and flew up into the sky, heading toward Calmaramon.

"Biyomon! What are you doing!?" The others called in concern.

"I'm not going to sit on the sidelines anymore!" Biyomon shouted.

"Wait! It's too dangerous!" JP exclaimed. "And you're still hurt from that attack on you!"

Biyomon ignored him and continued flying. She may help distract Calmaramon so Lopmon could do whatever crazy plan he had.

Zephyrmon was struggling in Calmaramon's hold, and she saw Biyomon flying up to her.

"B-Biyomon?" Zephyrmon rasped out, barely able to speak due to the tightness of the tentacle holding her.

"Don't worry, we'll save you," Biyomon said before she began clawing and pecking at the tentacle.

"Get off of me, you little pest!" Calmaramon shouted before she swung her tentacles at Biyomon, slapping her away and into the water.

Zephyrmon could only watch as Biyomon fell into the water. She felt so helpless, unable to do anything to help her friend.

Luckily, Biyomon was picked up by one of the Gomamon, and was swimming her back to the raft.

"Now, to finish you all-" Calmaramon began when one of the Gomamon jumped as high as he could toward the tentacle that was holding Zephyrmon.

Lopmon jumped from the Gomamon's back, and used his ears to ride the wind to get as close to the tentacle as he could. "Blazing Ice!"

Lopmon fired out an icy wind at the tentacle, he blew as hard as he could. His icy wind was nothing more than a cool breeze compared to Kumamon's attack, but it was still enough to cause frost to cover over part of the tentacle, making it go stiff.

Seeing what was going on, Zephyrmon realized Lopmon was trying to free her. The tentacle wrapped around her was now frozen over. Taking advantage of her Beast Spirit's strength, Zephyrmon broke free of Calmaramon's tentacle and flew back a distance. "Thanks, Lopmon!"

"What the!?" Calmaramon hadn't even noticed what Lopmon had been doing, she just knew her tentacle got really cold all of a sudden, but it happened so fast that she hadn't had time to react until Calmaramon broke free.

"It's time to end this!" Zephyrmon shouted.

Lopmon fell back down into the water, but another Gomamon managed to help him back up.

Zephyrmon moved her arms in a circular motion. "Hurricane Gale!"

Zephyrmon created a tornado with pink wind blades that engulfed and slashed at Calmaramon's body.

Calmaramon fell back into the water as the Hurricane Gale knocked her over, screaming as she fell.

"That's for picking on my friends." Zephyrmon said calmly as she hovered down. Everyone else was cheering at Zephyrmon turning the fight around.

Calmaramon was hurt, but still far from out. She turned around, snapping. "You're gonna pay for this!"

The boys, however, screamed in horror when they saw Calmaramon's face. It would appear some of her ink started running out of her eyes, almost like ruined eyeliner.

Everyone else recoiled at seeing the ink running down from Calmaramon's eyes.

"That's the scariest thing I've seen yet!" Tommy yelped in fright.

"Be quiet! You brats are in for a heaping helping of pain!" Calmaramon shouted as she wiggled her tentacles.

"Calmaramon!" A different, feminine voice called, catching Calmaramon's attention.

"Huh? Who was that?" JP asked.

A small, makeshift raft began floating near them, and a small, black cat-like creature was using a thick looking stick to paddle. Calmaramon's eyes went wide as she saw BlackGatomon, the very being she had to pick up or Duskmon would be sure to make her death painful.

"That's enough, Calmaramon," BlackGatomon stated. "If you keep going like this, these guys will take your data, and you will be returned to Primary Village. Is that what you want?"

Calmaramon grimaced. "N-No… But these brats have been causing me so much trouble!" Yet her protest sounded lame to Calmaramon herself.

"Who's this cat?" JP asked.

"I don't know, but it looks like she and Calmaramon know each other," Koji said in a suspicious tone.

The other Digimon watched in silence as BlackGatomon spoke to Calmaramon.

"You're already showing signs of weakness," BlackGatomon cooly pointed out. "I can already tell that if you're hit by one more attack by the Beast Spirit of Wind, you'll end up just like Grumblemon. It would be in our best interest to retreat before that happens."

Calmaramon hated to admit it, but BlackGatomon raised a good point. It was getting harder to use her strength to fight back, and she was slowly weakening. "Fine…" She grumbled before looking back at the group of interlopers before her. "You brats and your little Digimon pals got lucky this time, but next time, you won't be so lucky again!"

Looking back at BlackGatomon, Calmaramon held out a tentacle. "C'mon, let's get out of here before ol' eyeballs decides to make me into fish food."

"That bad, huh?" BlackGatomon chuckled as she took the tentacle.

"Who are you?" Tommy asked BlackGatomon.

"Nobody important, but you can call me BlackGatomon," BlackGatomon answered with a grin. "I look forward to seeing you all again."

With BlackGatomon with her, Calmaramon swam away from the kids, though she swam quickly, taking off like a rocket before any of them could do anything.

"Looks like the fight's over," Zephyrmon noted. "Let's get everyone on the island and take a break."

---

All the Gomamon were cheering happily as they were able to finally reunite with their friends and family. Zephyrmon reverted back to Zoe, needing a rest from all of that fighting.

"Looks like we were able to do it," Biyomon said as she stood next to Zoe, seeing the happy Gomamon reuniting with each other. "You've grown quite strong, Zoe. You were able to stand up to Ranamon when no one else could, and even found your Beast Spirit."

"Thanks." Zoe said with a smile and a slight blush on her face. "But I couldn't have done it without you guys helping when I really needed it." She admitted. "I was sure Calmaramon would snap me in half when she had me in that slimy tentacle of hers."

"She probably would have if Lopmon hadn't come up with the idea of having one of the Gomamon jump him towards her tentacle," Biyomon noted.

"I only came up with the idea because of the comment Tommy made about freezing her tentacle," Lopmon admitted sheepishly.

"Well… it worked," Tommy flushed. "But I didn't think you'd try to freeze it yourself. I got scared that you would get really hurt from doing that."

"I know it was risky, but something you have to take risks to save those you love," Lopmon pointed out.

Tommy blinked before he smiled. "I didn't think you cared that much about us." He snickered. "I guess we're just that lovable, huh?"

"Oh, you definitely are." Kokuwamon laughed. "Especially this big goof ball here!" He added, gesturing to JP.

"What does that mean?!" JP retorted, pouting. "I'm…" He blushed as he trailed off. "Am I really that lovable?"

"Of course you are, you dork," Kokuwamon replied.

"At least we were all able to make it here in one piece," Koji sighed.

"Heh, you're happy things turned out as well as they did, admit it," Labramon chuckled, making Koji blush.

"Hey Zoe," Takuya spoke up. "How were you able to control your Beast Spirit?"

"Just luck, I guess," Zoe answered, not really sure herself. "I didn't feel like I was going to lose control at any moment."

"Like I said earlier, it's most likely due to the fact your Beast Spirit has some human traits," Patamon explained. "So its animalistic instincts aren't as powerful."

"Oh, that would explain it then," Zoe noted. "I guess it… actually really was luck then."

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm just glad things worked out in our favor; we didn't have to deal with an out of control Beast Spirit when most of us can't even Spirit Evolve." Koji remarked. "So I guess we can take some relief in that."

"Yeah, but we need to find those Toucanmon now." Takuya grumbled. "Those bird-brains still have our D-Tectors!"

"Maybe we can ask the Gomamon about them," Lopmon suggested. "Hey, Gomamon!"

The Gomamon looked over at who called them. They walked over to the children, smiling.

"Oh, thank you guys so much, because of you, we were able to reunite with our friends and family!" The Gomamon smiled.

"Of course, though you should thank Zoe, she did most of the hard work," Takuya said.

"Give yourselves some credit. The Digimon also worked hard to help me against Calmaramon," Zoe chuckled.

"Of course, we all worked together to chase off that mean Legendary Warrior and get our island back." Gomamon grinned.

"Hopefully this means you'll be able to take care yourselves if something like this happens again," Biyomon said.

"But for now, has any of you seen 4 Toucanmon around here lately?" Lopmon asked.

"Oh yeah, we did," One of the Gomamon spoke up, likely one that had been on this island. "They were talking about going to the Autumn Leaf Fair to sell these gizmos they got."

"What? Where's that at?" Koji frowned.

Patamon took out his book from his bellywarmer and opened it, turning its pages until he found what he was looking for. "The Autumn Leaf Fair is a trader's market on the continent north from here."

"Aw man! If those Toucanmon sell our D-Tectors, we'll never get them back!" JP groaned. "We need to catch up to them, like ASAP!"

"We'll need to get back out onto the ocean to travel to the Autumn Leaf Fair though." Koji pointed out. "And we had a hard time just getting here."

"Don't worry, we'll help you get as close to the continent as we can," Gomamon said. "It's the least we could do after everything you've done for us. We'll make sure to provide you with provisions and any materials you need to make a better raft."

"Thanks, Gomamon, we really appreciate your help." Zoe smiled.

As the humans and Gomamon started getting to work, the Digimon sat down next to each other, under the excuse that they were recovering from their bout with Ranamon. But in reality, they needed to talk while everyone else was distracted with preparing for their trip to the Autumn Leaf Fair.

"And then there was one," Lopmon noted.

"Ironically, the youngest of the group is the last one, huh?" Kokuwamon sighed.

"It… won't be much longer now." Biyomon frowned.

"What are we going to do once Tommy gets his Beast Spirit?" Labramon worriedly asked. "Can we… really make it out here on our own? Those… saboteurs hadn't bothered us in a while, but… I get the feeling once we leave the kids, we'll become open season."

As unfortunate as it was, Labramon spoke the truth. Those saboteurs hadn't bothered them since the incident with the Toy Island due to the fact they couldn't allow the Legendary Warriors to see them. Being near the children kept them safe, but soon that protection will be gone.

"Hey, we can't just give up because things will get harder soon," Patamon spoke up. "While it's true we won't have the kids to protect us anymore once we leave, we can still survive on our own. The evil Legendary Warriors and Cherubimon won't be after us, the only ones we have to worry about are those saboteurs."

"That's true." Biyomon noted. "We just have to find a way to outsmart them. They may be a threat, but we have been in worse spots before. Those saboteurs don't seem that smart anyway."

"We still can't underestimate those guys though." Kokuwamon pointed out. "They're pretty strong themselves."

"We'll find a way to deal with them when we have to," Lopmon said. "Besides… they're not who I'm worried about the most."

Lopmon looked at the children.

"You're worried how they'll take it when we have to leave?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah… they got attached to us… to the point they were willing to risk their own Spirits just to save us," Lopmon pointed out. "I'm worried that us leaving will break them. And it could end badly for them and for us. If they were to die too early, the loop will start all over again, and all of this would've been for nothing."

"Yeah, we do have to consider that." Labramon grumbled. "It's like it's a no-win situation for us. The moment the last of them gets his Beast Spirit, we leave and we can't help them. The kids will be on their own, and we have to watch them struggle. It's like the mastermind is being a bully to us!"

"What a foreign concept, huh, Labramon?" Kokuwamon smugly stated.

"Oh be quiet," Labramon huffed.

"But Labramon's got a point. Allowing us to stay with the kids before forcing us to separate from them is what someone who wants to psychologically torment us would do," Lopmon sighed. "We watched them grow, we helped them, we interacted with them, we ate with them, we got to know them as the days went on. Of course it's going to be painful when we're no longer allowed to be around them. We… we would be like the Gomamon who were separated and cut off from their family and friends on this island, only, there won't be a miracle to stop the whirlpool that keeps us separated."

"Does it really have to be this way?" Patamon asked.

"If we don't, we'll be kicked out, and we won't be able to help them anymore," Biyomon glumly stated.

"But could we keep Tommy away from his Beast Spirit?" Labramon asked. "We've been good little dogs since Tapirmon set that nightmare trap for us. So now, almost all of them have their Beast Spirits… but surely there's a loophole somewhere we can exploit? I mean it's not our fault if Tommy decided not to enter a certain shop with a certain Digimon."

"But then they'll never find their D-Tectors, which is what they'll need to survive this," Kokuwamon pointed out.

"What if we just showed Tommy the D-Tectors, but keep him from playing that game?" Patamon suggested.

"Would it really work? With the Beast Spirit that close to Tommy… would Tommy really not notice anything at all while he's there?" Lopmon questioned. "It's a long shot, and it might work… but one of the main groups not getting their Beast Spirit when they're supposed to… wouldn't we be caught pretty quickly?"

"We probably would be caught." Patamon admitted. "We tried to change things before, and look what happened as a result; we got that warning from Tapirmon. If we try to screw things up again, we will be kicked out…"

"So… there really isn't anything we can do to stop this… separation?" Labramon whined.

"I wish there was…" Biyomon frowned as well.

"Guys, chin up. We can't let this get us down," Kokuwamon said. "Sure, our time with our friends may be coming to a close soon, but we haven't reached that point yet. We should… do what we can to make sure they're ready to stand on their own when the time comes."

"Kokuwamon is right," Lopmon agreed. "Moping isn't going to help us. If our separation is inevitable, then we should prepare for it rather than dreading it. Once we leave, we'll be free to seek out any possible way to free them from this programming instead of sticking to the rails the mastermind left for them."

Patamon grinned. "Yeah! We can stick it to the mastermind! So, let's not look at leaving as a bad thing! Let's use it as a good chance to turn the tables on the mastermind and the fate laid out for the children!"

"You seem pretty eager to stop the mastermind." Biyomon noted with a grin of her own. "And I'm in complete agreement with you."

"Don't leave me out of this either." Labramon grinned, showing her sharp teeth easily. "I want some payback at the mastermind for being such a bully."

"Heh… that's just like you, Lopmon, turning a bad situation into something good," Kokuwamon chuckled.

"Not necessarily all me, you were the one to bring up that we should look at it differently," Lopmon pointed out.

"And we shouldn't let the kids see how sad we are about this, they're already getting worried about how we've been acting lately," Patamon added. "This won't be goodbye… this will be a 'see you later' as they graduate from needing us."

"Yeah, and we'll definitely be seeing them again, but in our world instead of here." Biyomon grinned.

"Now that we've addressed this, there's another thing we should address," Lopmon said.

---

Titanic X: ZAFT: You will see!

pokemon fan 1991: DarkFoxKit: Kokuwamon is trying his best to be a gentleman, besides, Kokuwamon himself is keeping the real boy inside him in line.

ZAFT: There are many reasons why BlackGatomon became the way she is. But that is a good observation. XD